Farmersville Zoning, Planning & Building Codes

Last reviewed: July 3, 2026

Overview

Farmersville's zoning and planning rules are contained in Title 17 of the Farmersville Municipal Code (the "Farmersville Zoning Ordinance") and implement the city's General Plan through mapped districts, development standards, design guidance and discretionary procedures (§ 17.04.010–050) . The code organizes use tables (residential, commercial, industrial), zone chapters (R‑1, R‑M, C‑C, I, etc.), overlay tools such as the P‑D Planned Development overlay, and cross‑cutting chapters for parking, landscaping and signs (§ 17.04.060; Chapters 17.36, 17.72, 17.76–17.84) . This page explains where to find the rules, the city's district families, the citywide standards you will run into (setbacks/height/coverage/parking), the main design and permit paths, how overlays/specific plans work, and how state housing rules intersect with Farmersville's code (§ 17.04.050; § 17.08.106; § 17.36.050) .

How Farmersville's code is organized

• Title 17 is the zoning title and opens with general provisions and content statements that explain the ordinance includes maps, use tables and regulations controlling uses, setbacks, parking, landscaping and signs (§ 17.04.010–050) .
• Definitions and planning terms live in Chapter 17.08 (definitions such as "density", "density bonus", "design guidelines") — look for § 17.08.105 (density bonus) and § 17.08.106 (design guidelines) for state‑law/policy hooks .
• Each zone has its own chapter (for example, R‑1 Single‑Family Residential at § 17.24.xxx, R‑M Multiple‑Family at § 17.32.xxx, C‑C Central Commercial at § 17.42.xxx, I / I‑L industrial at § 17.60.xxx and § 17.64.xxx) where permitted uses, yards, height and special performance standards are collected (§ 17.24.020; § 17.32.040; § 17.42.040; § 17.60.040; § 17.64.020) .
• Cross‑cutting chapters include the Planned Development overlay (P‑D, Chapter 17.36) and chapters that house landscaping (Chapter 17.76), off‑street parking (Chapter 17.80), and signs (Chapter 17.84) — those are referenced from most zone chapters as mandatory compliance items (§ 17.36.020–050; see repeated “subject to the provisions of Chapters 17.76, 17.80 and 17.84”) .
• Design guidance is adopted separately as the Farmersville Design Guidelines and is invoked throughout the code where higher design quality is required (§ 17.12.045; § 17.36.045) .

Zoning district families

Farmersville's code groups familiar district types — below are the main district families and where the standards are found in Title 17:

• Residential

  • R‑1 (Single‑Family Residential) — basic low‑density single‑family rules, front setback 25 ft, typical side/rear rules, principal building height typically 18 ft (exceptions allow up to 30 ft in recent subdivisions) — see § 17.24.030–040 .
  • R‑M (Multiple‑Family Residential) — RM base zones RM‑2.5 and RM‑4.0 with densities stated as dwelling‑units per lot area, front setback 15 ft, side/rear minimums and maximum building height three stories / 30 ft (§ 17.32.010–040) .
  • U‑R (Urban Reserve) and O‑S (Open Space) provide preservation/transition rules (front setback 35 ft, height limit 30 ft) (§ 17.16.010–040; § 17.20.010–040) .

• Commercial

  • C‑C (Central Commercial / downtown) — pedestrian‑oriented downtown rules requiring buildings to front the sidewalk, display windows, parking to rear/side; lot width/area minimums and a 40 ft building height cap (§ 17.42.010–060) .
  • Other commercial chapters (C‑G, C‑H, C‑S, Service/Highway) contain their own yard and performance rules and cross‑reference landscaping, parking and signage chapters (§ 17.22, 17.56, 17.60) .

• Industrial

  • I / I‑L (Light Industrial / Industrial) — the industrial chapter allows intensive uses, includes no general height limit in I zones except where within 200 ft of residential, then a 40 ft limit, and requires screening/landscaping and sometimes conditional use permits for noisy/odorous activities (§ 17.60.040–070) .

• Public / Quasi‑Public

  • P‑QP — for public agency uses; typically no yards required unless abutting a zone that does (§ 17.22.010–040) .

• Overlay & Special

  • P‑D Planned Development overlay — allows mixed uses, deviations from underlying standards when the overall plan improves the project; processed together with use permits and subject to findings and lapse rules (§ 17.36.010–090) .
  • The code also contains Special Provisions (Chapter 17.68) and a set of cross‑cutting design/landscape/parking signifier chapters that apply citywide (§ 17.68; §§ 17.76, 17.80, 17.84) .

(If you want to see the city's mapped districts and clickable descriptions, consult Farmersville Zoning and Farmersville Land Use.) Links: the city's development standards and parking rules are summarized on Farmersville Development Standards and Farmersville Parking. Use the P‑D and overlay language read in Farmersville Overlay Districts.

Citywide development standards

• How to find them: each zone chapter carries the zone‑specific front/side/rear yard, height and lot‑area rules (for example § 17.24.040 for R‑1, § 17.32.040 for R‑M, § 17.20.030 for O‑S) .
• Typical setbacks and heights (representative examples from Title 17):
  • R‑1: Front yard 25 ft; principal building height normally 18 ft (up to 30 ft in some subdivisions) — § 17.24.040; § 17.24.030 .
  • R‑M: Front yard 15 ft; side yards 5–10 ft depending on story count; maximum 3 stories / 30 ft — § 17.32.040; § 17.32.030 .
  • O‑S / U‑R: Front yard 35 ft; height limit 30 ft — § 17.20.030; § 17.16.030 .
  • I zone: generally no height limit except where proximate to residential/future residential (then 40 ft within 200 ft) — § 17.60.040 .
• Coverage/FAR/lot‑area: many zones set maximum lot coverage or minimum lot areas (for example 70% coverage in R‑M multi‑family, specific minimum lot areas for apartments/duplexes in § 17.32.040) .
• Parking: Farmersville requires off‑street parking and defines parking areas/spaces in Chapter 17.80; many zones explicitly cross‑reference Chapter 17.80 and allow shared‑parking reductions downtown (e.g., Central Commercial may reduce parking by 25% and is encouraged to use shared parking agreements) — see § 17.42.060 and cross references to Chapter 17.80 . (For a short reader guide to parking rules, see Farmersville Parking.)

Design, site plan & discretionary review

• The Farmersville Design Guidelines supplement the code and are invoked across zones; the city intends them to be flexible but mandatory where the zone chapter says so (§ 17.12.045; § 17.08.106) .
• Site plan and design review procedures (who signs off): plot plan review by the zoning administrator is required for most projects that need a building permit valued over $50, while larger new construction or expansions (and some new uses) require planning commission review; see the site plan/design review applicability rules in § 17.72.030 and the zone chapters that repeat the requirement (§ 17.72.030; § 17.60.070; § 17.22.060) . Farmersville explains which commercial uses the planning director may approve administratively in § 17.72.030 .
• Design review process: the code ties design review limits and required findings to Chapters 17.36 (P‑D) and 17.72 (site plan & design), and refers appeals/procedures to Chapter 17.104 for formal processing (§ 17.36.050; § 17.72.030; § 17.104 references) .

(For full process flow and required submittals, consult Farmersville Design Review and Farmersville Variances and Exceptions pages.)

Specific plans & overlays

• Planned Development (P‑D) overlay (Chapter 17.36) is Farmersville's primary flexible tool: P‑D allows mixed uses, deviations from underlying rules when the overall design improves the project, and increases density up to 25% over base zone density unless state law allows more (§ 17.36.010–060) .
• The code also contains other overlay mechanisms and special‑purpose chapters (Special Provisions Chapter 17.68) that add tailored rules (e.g., accessory building rules, private airports, solar access provisions) (§ 17.68.010–030) . See Farmersville Overlay Districts and Farmersville Historic Preservation for district‑level overlays and special controls.

Building permits & review (typical path)

1. Preliminary check: confirm zoning and applicable overlays on the official zoning map and read the zone chapter for use and development standards (found in each chapter; for example § 17.24 for R‑1) .
2. Ministerial vs. discretionary: many routine building permits require plot plan review by the zoning administrator (value threshold >$50) and some small alterations may be handled administratively; larger new construction or expansions typically require site plan approval by the planning commission (§ 17.20.050; § 17.22.060; § 17.60.070; § 17.72.030) .
3. P‑D, CUPs and variances: if your proposal requests deviations, use permits, or P‑D rezoning, those applications are submitted with development plans and processed under the procedures chapter (applications, hearings and findings in Chapters 17.36 and 17.104) (§ 17.36.050; § 17.36.070; Chapter 17.104 references) .
4. CEQA and environmental review are applied when required per § 17.04.070 (§ 17.04.070) .
5. Building code and inspections: ADUs and other permits must conform to the California Fire and Building Codes; Title 17 repeatedly ties zoning approvals to compliance with state building standards (§ 17.24.060 I; see also definitions referencing the Uniform Building Code in § 17.08.308) .

(If you need step‑by‑step forms and submittal checklists, consult Farmersville Land Use and Farmersville Development Standards.)

State housing law in Farmersville

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs / JADUs): Farmersville updated its ADU rules to align with state law (Ord. No. 523, Jan. 22, 2024). Farmersville allows ADUs (including up to two detached ADUs under certain conditions), requires ministerial approval within 60 days for complete ADU/JADU applications, and sets ADU parking at one parking space per ADU unless the ADU is within 1/2 mile of a transit center; the ordinance explicitly references Government Code § 65852.2 and spells out demolition/fee/timing rules (§ 17.24.060, as amended by Ord. No. 523) . See Farmersville ADUs for a focused summary.
• Density bonus and developer incentives: Farmersville defines density bonus in § 17.08.105, and authorizes developer incentive mechanisms allowing reductions in subdivision or zone standards under the incentives program (§ 17.08.105–107) .
• SB 9 / duplexes / ministerial lot splits: the code contains modern ADU rules but I did not find explicit local text adopting SB 9 (ministerial duplex/ lot split) provisions in the retrieved Title 17 excerpts; verify with the city for any SB 9 implementation or objective‑standard checklists (Not found in retrieved materials) .
• Rent control / local rent limits: Farmersville's Title 17 (zoning code) does not set rent control; such measures would typically appear in other municipal code titles or ordinances. No rent control provisions were found in the retrieved Title 17 materials (Not found in retrieved materials) .
• Building code linkage: ADU and all building permits must comply with the California Fire and Building Codes; the zoning code explicitly requires ADUs to meet state building standards (§ 17.24.060 I; § 17.08.308) .

Information gaps / things to verify with the city

• SB 9 local implementation (objective standards/checklists for ministerial lot splits): Not found in the retrieved Title 17 excerpts — verify with the planning department.
• Any active Specific Plans beyond the P‑D language (map/plan documents): the zoning code provides the P‑D overlay but did not include a separate city specific‑plan text in the extracted files — check with the city for adopted specific plans or recent council ordinances.
• Fee schedules, application forms, and checklists are maintained by the city separately and are not reproduced in the Title 17 excerpts — contact Planning or consult Farmersville Development Standards for application fees and submittal requirements.

Source References

• Farmersville Zoning Ordinance (Title 17), Chapter 17.04 et seq. — general provisions and content (§ 17.04.010–070)
• R‑1 Single‑Family zone, § 17.24.030–040 (setbacks & height)
• R‑M Multiple‑Family zone, § 17.32.030–040 (density, setbacks, coverage)
• C‑C Central Commercial zone, § 17.42.010–060 (downtown building placement, parking)
• I zone (industrial) and general industrial standards, § 17.60.040–070
• P‑D Planned Development overlay, § 17.36.010–090 (application, deviations, findings)
• Site plan & design review applicability, § 17.72.030 (plot plan vs. planning commission review)
• ADU/JADU rules (amendment Ord. No. 523), ADU standards (parking, ministerial approval, timing), § 17.24.060 (as amended Jan. 22, 2024)
• Definitions (density/density bonus/design guidelines), § 17.08.105–106 (density bonus; design guidelines)